Of Bandits in Caves SBCC
by ame-ryuu
Summary: A priestess and her young sister find a certain bandit..


This is part of Silver's Inuyasha Blood Chit Challenge.  
  
Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha.  
  
-----  
  
**Of Bandits in Caves by ame-ryuu**  
  
The priestess Kikyo swung her basket slightly from side to side as she strode down the beaten path towards   
  
the spot where she knew the best healing herbs grew. Behind her, Kaede skipped merrily along, humming a nameless  
  
tune and generally being the happy girl she was. Kikyo marveled at her sister's gift of unwavering happiness.   
  
Suddenly the younger girl appeared at her side, holding up a small flower.  
  
"For you," she said, reaching up on her tiptoes to place the blossom behind her sister's ear.  
  
"Thank you, Kaede." Kikyo gave her younger sibling a smile. Kaede returned it and pranced on ahead to gather   
  
more flowers. To the right there was a forest and to the left there were two large hills that dropped sharply on   
  
the other side. Kaede ran to the top of one hill and looked out, enjoying the view of the land. Kikyo watched her  
  
as she looked all around and then downward.  
  
"AAAIIIIEEEEEE!" Kaede's shrill scream pierced the air, cutting it like a knife and sending Kikyo scrambling   
  
up the hill after her, the basket forgotten on the ground in her haste. Kaede had stumbled backwards and fallen   
  
on her bottom, eyes wide. Kikyo knelt down next to her and placed an arm around her. "There's a man down there,"  
  
the young girl choked out.  
  
Leaving her sister's side in an instant Kikyo peered over the precipice. Sure enough, at the bottom a man  
  
lay motionless. His legs were twisted in a grotesque manner, obviously broken beyond repair. His skin was ruby   
  
red, apparently burned. Whoever did this to him didn't want that man to get up.  
  
"Remain here." Kikyo eased herself over the cliff gently. It wasn't particularly high or steep, but judging by  
  
the extent of the man's injuries, falling was not an advisable idea.   
  
Several tense minutes later Kikyo reached the bottom. Moving to the man's side she touched his wrist and   
  
felt a faint heartbeat beneath the burning flesh. His clothing was charred, but it didn't look like he'd had too  
  
much on to begin with anyway. Part of his shirt that was still mostly intact had fallen away, revealing that a   
  
small piece of cloth had been sewn. The sewing job was terrible, so the priestess simply ripped the cloth out.  
  
_ 'If found, please give assistance and medical help if needed. A reward will be granted to those who comply.'_  
  
"Very well," Kikyo murmered. "Kaede?" Kikyo looked upwards to find that her sister was staring down, fear  
  
banished by overwhelming curiosity. "I am going to assist him. Please gather the necessary herbs and meet me at the  
  
village. Bring bandages also."  
  
Her head went back down as Kikyo heard a rasping breath from the man. His eyes were open and he was looking   
  
at her, rasping as he tried to speak.  
  
"No.....No village...."  
  
"You need medical attention, my sister and I are going to help you," Kikyo reasoned in a firm tone.  
  
The man gave her a wry smile. "I'm a bandit....Onigumo..."  
  
"A bandit? Sister, let us leave him! I do not trust him!" Kaede's panicked voice drifted down from above  
  
jumping several octaves when she spoke the word 'bandit.' The fear on her face was plain, but Kikyo shook her head.  
  
"No, we must help him. I will meet you at the old cave, just outside the village." She shifted her gaze back  
  
to the man at her feet. "You will be safe there." The only reply she recived was Onigumo lasping back into   
  
unconsciousness. Kikyo glanced upward and noted that Kaede was gone. That was good, it meant that she was already   
  
off to do as she had been told.  
  
Stooping down, Kikyo managed to get one of the man's arms over her shoulder. She could feel the heat radiating  
  
off of him, a testament to how bad his burns were. Cringing under the weight, the priestess started a slow walk to  
  
the cave.   
  
-----  
  
Kaede dipped the cloth into the bowl of water again, wringing out the excess and placing it back on Onigumo's  
  
forhead. She doubted it was doing any good, but it was the best thing she could come up with. Next to Onigumo's   
  
head lay the cloth found with him. She snorted at it, highly doubting anyone would care enough about a low-life  
  
bandit to offer him medical care except her sister. She had brought that up and argued with Kikyo over it, but her  
  
sibling insisted upon helping the thief. Heaven only knew what he had done in the past, but that didn't matter to   
  
Kikyo.  
  
"That man will never move from that spot again." Kikyo's voice echoed in Kaede's head. That didn't mean he  
  
deserved the courtesy of their help every day. Whoever had broken his legs, caught him on fire and thrown him  
  
over a cliff had certainly wanted Onigumo dead for some reason, so who were they to interfere with other people's  
  
versions of justice?  
  
"Some one cares about him enough to sew that scrap into his shirt." Another of Kikyo's excuses. Kaede shook   
  
her head as she transfered the cloth to the bowl and back to Onigumo's head again.  
  
"No one cares about you." Kaede told the unconscious man, confirming the thought with a nod. If anyone did   
  
care they wouldn't have let him become a bandit and nearly get himself killed. "No good will come of this either,"  
  
the young girl added. "I'm sure of it."  
  
-----Owari------ 


End file.
